Seeking disability from Social Security? Read this article...!

I am tempted to quote most of the article (from today's New York Times)... here are just a few snippets:

"Steadily lengthening delays in the resolution of Social Security disability claims have left hundreds of thousands of people in a kind of purgatory, now waiting as long as three years for a decision.

Two-thirds of those who appeal an initial rejection eventually win their cases." (bolded by me)

"But in the meantime, more and more people have lost their homes, declared bankruptcy or even died while awaiting an appeals hearing...

Of the roughly 2.5 million disability applicants each year now, about two-thirds are turned down initially by state agencies, which make decisions with federal oversight based on paper records but no face-to-face interview. Most of those who are refused give up at that point or after a failed request for local reconsideration.

But of the more than 575,000 who go on to file appeals — putting them in the vast line for a hearing before a special federal judge — two-thirds eventually win a reversal."

Background customization

in response to fallen33...would love to help but as you can see I am homelewss and jobless and carless also with 10cents in my pocket I cant weven help myself I suffer from POST TRAUMATIC STREESS DISORDER AM bI-POLAR HAVE PANIC AND ANXIETY EVERYDAY WITH REOCCURING NIGHTMARES THAT HAVE PLAQUED ME THROUOUT MY ENTIRE LIFE i JUST NEVER KNOEW WHAT IT WAS FROM UNTIL NOW
I JUST APPLIED AND WAS DENIED BENEFITS I HAVE A FAMILY NO INCOME AND A DIBITIG CONDITION THAT EFFECTS MY EVERYDAY LIVING//HELP

OMG i guess i was ucky i got my ssdi first try first 5 months they don't pay you for explain that to me. But now that i find out being older you get less money that the younger works the max is 2200 a month but depending on your age you are lucky to get 1200.00 a month.I need a damn job or some other way to make money this 1200.00 a month ain't shit when you house payment is 1690.00 a month holy shit what a bunch of crap. anyone have ideas where to get some kind of work?

I read your situation and think that you have a positive attitude and love for the Lord which is going to get you through the hard times. My husband is on social security disability and it has been hard for us to live on his disability check ( expecially when I am not working and our children are grown- as they give more money when you have minor children) but thank God we have steady income. My husband did plumbing for a while and we also were foster parents for about 7 years. I am trying to start a non profit organization and need a building down town in my home town but even though I have saved money for that there is never enough. My husband was just diagnosed with throat cancer and does not smoke but I believe he will survive this and we will figure away to pay all our bills ( which are close to $30,000.) which will get paid soon I believe- but not at this site. Any way this is a good place to vent and I don't expect anyone here to really help in any monetary way. I just have one thing to say about what you said about not praying for yourself ( Give us this day our daily bread- in the Lord's prayer show that we need to pray for ourselves and that is a lie someone sold you not to pray for yourself) So go ahead and do pray for yourselve and see the great things God in Christ will do for you. Let your faith soar. Pam

hahaha....if they were opting for honesty they would only be able to say.... I'm... they can't be trusted, we don't know for sure where they are from, and they are not really here...its always in a letter as for the help part...you should be the one yelling help

reply to daveh---I concur with you completely and like you have a story about my trials and tribulations with social security. Social Securitys secret is that they COUNT on you giving up after the first denial and are sure you will call it quits after the second denial. The sad part of this is that most people do give up and are convinced they could never qualify again after 2 denial. It was after my second denial that I saw an ad in my local newspaper that stated "If you've been denied Social Security Benefits" call ???????? "You will be accepted or I don't get paid" and like you I was accepted with my check in my hand within 3 months. My lawyer took 1/4 and cut me a check for the balance and My monthly checks started coming in 10 days later. I highly reccommend for ANYONE that is even thinking about attempting to get acceptance from SSI don't even blink until you have a disability lawyer. More important than getting a lawyer is make sure you have tons of documentation pertaing to your disability. If your disability is bad enough you should qualify for medicaid . It is very important that you qualify for medicaid or some kind of program that takes care of your medical needs. I hope my addition to your post will help others in their process through the black hole called SSI. my best sheshe030

I am one of those people who waited FOREVER to get my disability claim approved by Social Security. I see television PSA's that if you can't work because of health, Social Security is there for you. What a steaming pile of crap! They do EVERYTHING they are able to deny your claim and send you away no matter WHAT your disability. At every turn, they are there to OBSTRUCT rather than to FACILITATE. I am a person with AIDS. Last time I checked, HIV/AIDS is NOT something that you can recover from. People do NOT sero-convert from HIV+ to HIV-. It is a scientific impossibility. Yet, disability examiners determined that I was not impaired (even though I could hardly walk up the STAIRS to their examining doctor's office. The long and short of it is that I finally DID win the case and the disability benefit - - but only after losing my house, car, and credit. HERE'S A HINT IF YOU ARE FILING A DISABILITY CLAIM: GET A LAWYER! All I got from Social Security was snottiness and attempts to intimidate me out of filing a claim or a reconsideration request. When I conscripted a lawyer, their tone changed ENORMOUSLY. I fought with them for ONE YEAR and got no where. But once the lawyer took over the whole thing was settled in less than 3 months. When I went to my local office to inform them that I had retained counsel, she launched into a very scripted-sounding diatribe about me not needing a lawyer, that it would make no difference, and that the lawyer would take a whole lot of money from me and do NOTHING to earn it. I think they (people who work for Social Security) are taught to say those things. Whatever you do, don't believe a word that Social Security tells you. When anyone (ESPECIALLY Social Security) tells you that you DON'T need a lawyer, run as fast as you can to find a good disability lawyer. The Social Security Administration has lost all credibility with me. To me, they are now just "So-So Security."

I don't have any family either. Parents and grandparents gone when I was a child. I wouldn't kill myself over that though. I had to learn to accept that they were gone and not coming back. I was put here for a purpose. That is what God has revealed to me. If you kill yourself, you do not get the chance to help someone who might need you. We all serve a purpose and are connected in some way somehow. It is what you do with your energy source that matters most. Are you light or dark? You can change that. I oftened lived in darkness and then I learned that I am an energy source that can radiate light to others. I had to rid myself of the negative thoughts and energy around me. Once I did that, I became free. We are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. We are co-creators from God.

God put disability there so you can help yourself. You worked for that so don't think it doesn't belong to you. If you have worked, all that is required is 40 credits to collect disability. Get your disability so that God can help you and restore you. It will help. And you can work part time after you get the disability. Don't let your pride and ego stand in the way of getting the help you need! Peace and may God bless you!

get more mental help. There are more people out there that would love to get that money like myself. I have a chest tumor and need a thorocotomy, my lungs are so weak I cannot be operated on. So there goes both of my jobs, no income, been denied twice for disability.Be thankful your alive and have some sort of income,I also suffer from depression and migrains, I try to deal with my problems the best that I can, I've learned no matter how bad you think things are somewhere somebody is worse off than you. Be more positive and get some help from a mental health center.Good luck to you and may god bless.

I am on SSDI for something also, I have debilitating migraines they are classified in many neurology books as suicidal migraines. It is very painful and doctors do very little but at least I am on ssdi and I guess thats a positive. After reading how many people have to hire a lawyer and an appeal to get on it, it makes me feel a little comfortable knowing I can at least help my son grow up.

Like you I tend to consider suicide a lot. There are a great portion of farmers in India who are killing themselves because they farm all day but can't afford to eat, or make mortgage payments and there is a world food shortage that they are not discussing in our Senate and neither of the Presidential candidates will discuss it either.

As for a sure fire way to kill yourself, I have thought about it many times and when I am ready and my son is married and my husband and I are too sick to make it we will most likely take rat poison and niacin as I read online it is effective. More common than that people seek friendship. I would be your friend you can talk to me at any time. post your email on my page and I will talk to you almost every day. I find something good about everyone. I am a bitch but I still love anyone who is capable of love its the only way. I don't recommend you kill yourself because you can't afford to live a life of comfort. You have a lot to offer and you are depressed.

Please don't think about it they have the 1800-999-9999 line for people who are suicidal, I've been there I know. You can get out of this by networking you can talk to people your emotions can't run your life. I've lived an entire year on noodles and ketchup my son ate at a friends or families house we were embarrassed but shit happens you've got to keep fighting for the people who need you that you haven't met yet.

I don't have a mother, father or any grandparents I wish I had family. I would like to have you in my life are you in Mass I would even snail mail you.

I am 60 yr old. I am on 100% SSDI for severe chronic depression since 2001. I have tried every drug, voc rehab, to get reemployed. I hate welfare. I don't kiss ass well. I get $783 a month. It takes $2500 a month to live the way I want to and not be depressed. Does anyone have a sure fire way to kill yourself, painlessly, simple, not using a gun? Keep it short. No jokes. I really need help. Otherwise I will have to quit eating for a month to buy a gun. That is not painless, not eating.

Why not file for your disability? This is money that is not being 'given' to you but rather monies that you have paid into. It's your money,shouldn't you be able to draw some of it when you need it.

You can draw it for a while, then stop getting it when you have return to 'full speed' in your recovery. You can also work some while receiving it, check it out with social security office to see how much you can earn.

I can relate to this article so much. I am living proof of what the system can do and not do. As of right now, I am awaiting yet another notice from Social Security for my Disability filing. I first filed in 2003 was denied, appealed and went before an Admin Law Judge and was denied again. I appealed this to the Fed Appeals council and was granted another hearing with the Admin Law Judge........So again I am waiting. I dare not expect as my expectations have caused me a great deal of grief in the past.

My parents built an apt on their home for me and my youngest son with all their nest egg money. We have lived here for 3 years now. My only help is from a monthly child support check of 375 for which I am so thankful and I do get food stamps of about 200. My medicine and doctors are paid for by Medicaid. All this help from the State is such a blessing.

However, if it were not for my family taking me in how would I have made it? When you live with medical problems and chronic pain it almost always leads to depression which was already in place before this part of my life...and I am no exception. My parents are now getting too old to help support me.

My Step dad is the bread winner and still works when he gets jobs. He is now 75. His work is hit and miss, so it is always feast or famine around here. Currenty he has had no work for several months and we are behind on the mortgage by 3 months plus all other bills are doubled or tripled. How do people manage?? My situation is a piece of cake compared to others on this page.

I pray for God's will in my life but scared to death to be specific. I will pray for all of those on this page who need so much than I. I was taught not to pray for myself unless it would help another and in my case the help would be a blessing to my parent and my child.

I'm glad I found this site. I think we all should send this link to every elected official in our respective States.

Since finding this page I decided to share all the information on help I have found in the past. These sites are listed on my "homepage" on this site. If just one person can pull through by using this information it would be well worth it. It is all I have to give at the moment.